The Princess and the Butler
by Hazel Nut Coffiee
Summary: Hera is your every day normal student who wants to become a doctor, but she is also a princess of a faraway kingdom. Her cousin is Prince Joshua who proves to be protective of her, as she has a prince who falls for her, but she falls for a butler and start a romance that is hard to hide. As they try to hide their love, problems from a kingdom, no man's land, and a brother arise.


**A/N:** This is my first time writing a story based on a game, everything will be left the same, but just with my own little twist. Hopefully y'all will enjoy it and maybe more people will want to write stories about this game. I'm addicted to it and always check for updates, just wish they were a little cheaper. ^-^'

**Summary:** Hera is attending college inside the Kingdom of Charles to be a doctor, as they have the best program there than any of the other kingdoms. It's also the best kingdom, where no one knows of where she is from. She is also a princess of the Athenian Empire, which the Emperor, her father, is the older brother of the king of Dres Van, which makes her and Prince Joshua cousins. He had no idea she is there and becomes very protective of her as one of the other princes falls for her, but she actually falls for a butler. Protecting their secret, Hera will go to the end of the world to protect the man she loves, but also trouble comes along from an unlikely kingdom, a land where no one goes, and a troublesome brother.

* * *

Bells could be heard ringing across the university, as classes started to let out for the evening. A group of girls could be seen coming out from a side building, arms full of books and notes, as their teachers loaded them up with homework over the break they were going to have starting next week. They walked over to one of the small cafes, as they plumped down in the seats; the books slammed on the table, causing it shake a little. All four girls sigh, as they sunk in their chairs and ordered their coffee.

"I'm so glad that we have this two week break…I can finally catch up on my sleep." One of the girls said, as she laid her head on her books and sighed.

"I agree with you there Anna…the professor has really been on us about studying for that test that is coming up after break. No wonder why she gave us so much to study over the break." The girl across from her said, as she took a sip of the coffee that was brought to them.

Anna nodded a little, as she took a sip of hers as well. "No more of speaking of studies Catharine, I got plenty of time to think about that the week before classes resume. Say, Hannah, are you still going with me to the beach?" She asked, as she pulled out a magazine that was talking about all the hottest places to go for fall break.

The girl named Hannah piped up and smiled, giving a thumbs up. "I sure am I finished packing last night and ready to leave tomorrow. Say Hera…what are you doing for fall break?" Hannah inquired, as she looked over at the silent one of the group, who just sipped on her coffee.

"She's probably going to end up on the beach flirting, she always attracts the guys." Anna said with a smirk on her face, as she playfully poked Hera in the cheek, trying to get her attention and out of dreamland.

There was no doubt that Hera was the prettiest of the group. She had long, curly chocolate brown hair, big blue eyes, and a perfect hour glass figure. She had men all around that earned for her attention, but she never really cared to date. Sure she would flirt, but nothing more, she had too much going on to be distracted by a guy. She turned her head to the side a little, and gave a slight grin at the group. "Well...I'm actually going to end up visiting my cousin over in Dres Van for the two weeks. I haven't seen him in a while and thought about paying a visit."

"Only you would go and visit family on break…well too bad you can't come out to the beach with us." Anna stated with frown on her face, she truly wanted all four of them to go to the beach.

"Yeah, we could've went out and partied, then hooked up with a bunch of really cute guys." Hannah squealed as she wiggled in her seat, having a dreamy look on her face. The girls just laughed at her expression and Anna nearly jumped out of her seat, as she gripped the magazine in her hand to the point that you would think she would rip it apart.

"Oh dear, what did you find to make you nearly jump out of your seat?" Hera asked, trying to peek over the magazine to get a good look at what she was reading.

"It's about the six princes, talking about how they are all single and about a party at Nobel Michel's castle tomorrow evening. Oh how I would love to be there and to meet them." Anna stated, as she laid down the magazine in front of the others, pointing to the picture of the six princes and the article about each prince.

"I would love to be able to meet a prince and marry him. I do believe that Prince Edward is the most handsome looking prince.

"Oh no, Prince Keith is the best look prince there is, the way he just looks at the camera is enough to make me melt."

"I believe Prince Roberto is the cuter out of the six, he has a really fun loving personality and smile to make you lose yourself." Catharine said quietly.

"You all are wrong; Prince Joshua is the best looking. He has that kind of smile that will just make you squirm in your seat and fall head over heels in love."

Hera snorted a tad bit, hearing his name come up. She looked at the three girls, who all leaned in and gave her a very questioning look.

"Well Hera…who do you think is the better Prince." The three asked all at once.

"Well…I believe Prince Wilfred is the better out of six. He's gentle and sweet sounding, plus he has beautiful blue eyes and a kind smile." She said with a grin, which was true, he was a good looking prince after all.

They all sat there for a second to think over what she had said and nodded a tad bit, finally agreeing with her on that one. Realizing that it's getting near dark, Anna slowly stood up and stretched a little, looking down at the girls who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry girls, I need to get on heading home, I still got some packing left to do." Anna said, as she picked up her books and snugged them in her arms.

"Well, then I'll go home with you as well, that way we can stop by my apartment on the way to get my bags, so we can leave first thing in the morning." Hannah chirped, as she picked up her books as well.

"Well alright you two have fun and make sure you get plenty of guy's numbers for us, so that way we can determine who the cuter guy is!" Hera stated with a grin, as she and Catharine waved the other two off. They both sat there for a second, gathering their things, as Catharine began to speak. "So, send me a text a few days before we are due back to school, so that way we can get together and study for this big exam."

"You got it Catharine; I'll send you a text the night before."

She gave her a big smile and nodded, as she started to walk off down the street. "Alright, that sounds good to me."

Hera started off on her way home, she knew that she needed to get to bed and that tomorrow she had a real big day, or at least that's what her father had said to her over the phone earlier that morning. She sighed a little, as she watched the sun slowly start to go down. She loved her life in Charles Kingdom, sure she was far away from home, but it was a beautiful place to be and she fit right in perfectly. Her life at home wasn't bad, oh no, she had everything she ever wanted, but to get away from all the security and problems with her older brother, she had to go to another kingdom to study.

Passing by one of the shops, she caught a glimpse of the television playing before her. It was talking about the Athenian Empire being near the brink of war with a neighboring country which wasn't ruled under a King, but had a dictator who's been threating the Empire for the past ten years now. It showed a clip of their leader, who was named Julius, talking about wanting freedom in parts of the land under Emperor Lucius, who was calling for the downfall of Imperial Empire. Then showed another clip of Emperor Lucius, calling for talks with Julius, to see if they can work together, but the likely hood of that happening they said was one in a million. It's said a war between Athenian and Angevin could break out at any time, especially if tension between the two remain as high as they are now.

Hera sighed a little, she felt bad for everything going on, but she could not do much but pray that they find a solution here soon. She started to head down the sidewalk when she passed by an ally, and saw three guys corner a young girl, who looked to be in high school, and was cowering up against the wall. It looked they had drawn some blood from her, as the left side of her face was red. I looked around as people passed, not caring that a young girl was being assaulted and she couldn't let that happen. She dropped her books and shouted at them, gaining their attention, "Hey you punks! Why don't you go and pick on someone your own size and leave her alone!"

The three men looked up at her, irritated that they were rudely interrupted from their fun. One them barked at her, "Why don't you just go mind your own business and go home, if you know what's good for you."

Hera sneered at them, rolling her eyes, "That's fine, but first, you let her go, now."

"Who died and made you Queen? The girl isn't going anywhere and your about to end up in her position if you don't shut that little trap of yours." The bigger guy said who looked like he was the leader of the group.

She noticed that one of them had taken a knife out of his pocket and flipped it open, which made her sigh a little. "Seriously…what man needs a knife to threaten a woman?

One of them growled at her, as he began to walk towards her, smirking a tad bit. "Oh really? Well I hate to carve that pretty face of yours up, but you're about to begging for mercy here soon."

He had tried to take a swing with his knife, but luckily she was short and dodged it, biting the arm that wielded the knife, making him drop it on the ground. The man growled in pain and had back handed her against the wall, in which she winched in pain a little. "Why you little bitch…I ought to slit your little throat for that one."

Before the man could make a move, there was a young man standing in front of Hera, guarding her from the vigilante who attacked her. He had knocked the knife out of his hand and twisted his arm, sending him to the ground.

"It's very ungentlemanlike to threaten and attack a woman, I suggest you three let them go and make yourself disappear."

The other two had let the teenage girl go and started to walk towards to him. All he could was smirk, as he elbowed one of them in the gut and knocked the other one over the head. All three of them were on the ground, moaning in pain, as they eventually crawled away down the alley before the police came by and picked them up. Hera had gone over to the young girl and helped her up from the ground.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently, as the she treated her injuries to her face. All the young girl could do was nod a little, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Thank you so much Miss, if it wasn't for you and that man, I probably be in worse shape than I am now."

Hera smile softly at her, as she finished treating the wounds, "You're welcome, I'm just glad you are alright. What did they want at first from you?"

"They must've saw me leave the bank after I cashed my paycheck, because one of them ambushed me and dragged me down the alley way and demanded I handed over all my money."

"Well, you better be heading on home now, I bet your parents are worried about you."

The girl looked at her phone and noticed that it was late, and bowed to her. "Oh yes it is, thank you again miss!" She said, as she picked up her bag and started to run on home. All Hera could do was smile; not noticing the young man who protected her walked up next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump.

"I'm sorry Miss; I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you alright?" He asked gently, as he looked down at her. Hera looked up at him; her face went red as a tomato when she saw the man. He was very handsome, his black hair was short, but his banks went over his eyes, and had bright green eyes. She was a loss for words as her mind went blank, as the man gently placed his hand on her cheek. She winced a little when he did that, and he pulled back gently, with a worry expression on his face. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I just saw that where he had hit you was red."

It took her a minute before she could form any sort of words, but she managed to, "I'm...fine, it's just a slight bruise." She said, as she went over the words in her head, then realized he was the one who helped her and she bowed, embarrassed for her lack of respect. "I'm so sorry sir, thank you for your help."

He gave a gentle chuckle, as he smiled down at her, "No need to thank me, I saw you and the young girl in trouble, and I just couldn't stand by and watch. What caused them men to attack the both of you?"

Hera touched a finger over her lip, trying to replay the series of events over in her head and snapped her fingers, remembering. "That's right, I was on my home from the university, and I walked past the ally away and saw the three of them were ganging up on her and I tried to intervene to help." She explained, as she went over, picking up her books and notes that had scattered.

She noticed that the young man had bent down to help her pick up her books, slowly standing up, she blushed when he handed her the rest of her stuff. She took it with a smile, and nodded a bit. "Thank you again sir."

He smiled down at her and nodded, chuckling a little. "It's not every day I get to save a beautiful woman, if you don't mind, may I ask for your name?"

"My name is Hera, may I ask what your name is or are you just going to be the mystery man who saved me?" She asked with a slight giggle, which she had to stop herself. She has never acted like this before…maybe it was because he was actually very attractive and had saved her…even though she really didn't need saving.

"Hera? What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman…just like the goddess. My name is Zain."

Smiling just a tad bit, she looked down at her phone and notice that it was getting late and she had to be up early the next morning. "Oh dear, I need to be going, it's getting late." Hera said, as she started to head home, but was stopped when he had called out to her.

"Miss Hera, my car is around the corner…would you like me to drive you home?"

"Oh I couldn't ask you to do that, my apartment is just a few blocks away…" Before she could finish, it had started to pour down raining. She yelped, as she tried to cover her books and notes from getting soaked, which was becoming no use as she had nothing to protect them with. She watched as he removed his black jacket and raised it over her head to keep her from getting soaked even more and walked her toward his car. She felt the heat of his body up against hers and it made her feel warm, even though her cold wet clothes was sticking to her.

"I can't allow you to walk home in the dark, with it pouring down raining. I'd like to make sure you make it home safely." He said with a gentle smile, as he opened up the car door for her. He kept his jacket around her, as he got in the driver seat and proceeded to drive her home. The car ride was quiet as he drove her to the apartment; she looked out the window, noticing all the people were running indoors to get away from this storm that came out of nowhere. Once they had pulled up to her place, he swiftly got out of the car and opened the door for her, getting her out of car to avoid getting rained on more than they already had. He walked her up to where her apartment was and gently took her hand into his and kissed it, making her turn very red.

"You have a good rest of the night Miss Hera; hopefully our paths will cross one day again, as I look forward to see your beautiful smile." Zain said, as he gently walked down the hallway.

Hera stood there dumbfounded, as she watched him disappear down the hallway; it wasn't long before she realized his jacket was still around her shoulders. She ran down the hallway and out the door, but he had already left by the time she could make it.

"Well…maybe I'll see him again…and if I do, I'll make sure to give him back his jacket…" Hera muttered to herself, as she walked back to her apartment.

Her mind kept wondering off about that man she had met and his smile. It was sweet and sincere, not many smiles that she has seen before. She was brought of her own little world when she noticed a letter was in her door. She opened it up as she slowly walked in to her apartment, kicking off her shoes and peeling all the wet clothes off of her and placed them in the hamper. She changed into her pajamas, as she lay down on the couch, reading the letter that she had gotten.

"_Oh…it's the letter from father about tomorrow's party._" She thought as she laid the letter down on the coffee table. She knew she would be up and ready tomorrow for the party, but sleep was the first thing that came across her mind. Slowly she started to fall asleep on the couch, slowly slipping off into a deep sleep.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly into the apartment, as the Hera was sleeping peacefully on the couch, until the sound of knocking on the door woke her out of her deep sleep.

"Your Imperial Highness, are you up?" A soft voice asked from the other side, as the sound of knocking started once again.

Hera slowly rolled off the couch and opened the door, seeing that it was one of the maids from her castle who was standing in front of her. She made her way into the apartment, along with a young man who was a little bit older than her, smiling gently at her. "Well it seems our Imperial Highness just woke up…What happened to your face!?"

William gently took her face into his hands and inspected the side of her face; she still had a slight bruise on her right cheek. Hera pulled from his grip, as she placed her own hand over her cheek, it still stung a little. "It was nothing William…just an accident."

"An accident?! Your Highness, you need to be more careful. If anything were to happen here to you, it could cause issues with the kingdoms."

"I know that William, but I'm fine though…"

William took a deep breath, as he followed his Princess around the apartment, "I do hope you know what to day is Your Highness."

Hera sighed in defeat and nodded a tad bit, looking up at him as she walked off to get ready, "Yes, I know what today is."

"Well good, now get ready, so we can go over to Dres Van and get you ready for the party."

Hera placed on a simple nice black dress, with black heels and headed out with her butler and maid over to her cousins kingdom.

Once the drive over the Dres Van was over, she was ushered into a room full of dresses, truly she hated when she had to get ready for a party or anything requiring dressing up in a big fancy dress. She looked through each dress, but really couldn't find one to her liking.

"Sara…I hate to say it, but I just don't like any of these dresses." Hera said with a sigh, as she looked a long dark red dress that had jewels around the waist. She truly was picky, she rather not wear such big dresses. She prefers nice and simple, but her father usually won't hear of it.

"Well…His Imperial Majesty insisted that you wear one of these dresses."

"My father doesn't seem to understand that I just don't have a taste for them. Sara, you know what I like don't you?"

"Yes, your Imperial…"

"Hera."

"Huh?"

Hera smiled gently at her maid, before searching through the dresses again, "Please, call me Hera, I hate being refer to as "Imperial Highness".

Sara was lost for a few minutes before she could utter out any words, "I-I can't do that! I'll get in trouble by His Imperial Majesty or William!"

"Well…when it's just me and you…can you just call me by name? Plus, you're not that much older than me and we've been friends since I was a little girl."

Sara sighed in defeat as she looked at the young lady, it was true, Sara was not that much older than her. Hera was only 22, where Sara had just turned 25. The maid gave her a small, but sweet smile, and nodded her head. "Alright fine, you win your High…Hera. Don't get mad if I still call you by your title, as it's still pure habit, but I'll work on it when we are alone."

Hera gave her a bright smile and hugged her, she was happy to just be treated like a normal person. "Oh thank you, I just hate being called by my royal title, by the time you say it…you could've said my name three times."

"Well that's true…now, it's getting near time for us to go and you need a dress." Sara stated, as she went over to a bag that was hanging up.

"I know, it's just I don't like any of the dresses here."

"Well…this is why I had this dress order and snuck it along with the other dresses, because I knew you would have this problem and also, I know what you prefer to wear."

Sara had unzipped the dress, showing a beautiful but simple white strapless dress. It was a corset style, which had jewels embedded on the waist, and was long that had a soft flow to it. Hera's eyes lit up in amazement and started to smile real big at her maid, knowing that she had picked the right dress for her.

"It's beautiful Sara…" Hera said quietly as she slipped out of her clothes into the dress, having Sara lace it up in the back. That dress fit like a glove on her and she loved it. As she admired herself in the mirror, Sara applied her makeup, which thankfully Sara was able to cover up the bruise on her cheek and curled her hair into soft curls that was pinned back a little with a white rose.

She started to put gloves on to get her tiara out, as the young princess placed her jewelry on. Sara had gently placed the tiara on her head, when a knock on the door came and William walked in, smiling gently at her.

"Well this is perfect timing, we need to be heading over to Nobel Michel's Castle now for the party." William stated, as he ushered Sara to finish what she was doing and get them to the car.

"Where are Joshua and Jen at?" She asked, as she walked out of the room and out of the castle. She hasn't seen her cousin in nearly two years and was happy to be able to see him. She had also formed a close relationship with Jen, who was her first kiss and boyfriend when they were teenagers, though Joshua wasn't too happy that his cousin was dating his butler, but he never told anyone as long as they stopped seeing one another.

"His Highness and Jen left nearly an hour ago for the party, as they were worried about being late." William explained, as he opened up the car door for her and got in, setting off to drive to Nobel Michel's Castle. He looked back in the mirror and gave her a strange look. "Your Highness, you do know that His Imperial Highness Marcus will be attending the party tonight."

Hera sat right up in her seat, her facial expression was very readable as he mentioned his name, and then her expression soured a little, she was not happy about the information that she had received. "Why is my brother going to be there?"

"Well, Your Highness…he is the Crown Prince of Athenian, his presence is required tonight, for after the party there is be a meeting between each kingdom."

"What meeting and why was I not told about this?!" Hera asked, oh her blood was boiling with the news. Her brother had never cared about the kingdom and if he did, it was out of greed than the welfare of their Kingdom and people. Even though he was the Crown Prince, she was in line for the throne and has a right to voice her opinion on matters that regarded the Kingdom.

William sighed a little, he knew he should have not told her, but she was going to find out sooner or later. He would rather have her mad now, and then mad later. "Your Highness…this is a matter just for the Crown Princes, this is their first meeting with all the kingdoms around, not just the six kingdoms anymore. The kings have passed this duty on to their sons, as once they become Kings than they will have to do this."

Hera folded her arms in submission, she knew she would never be Queen unless she married, but there was a small part of her that really didn't want to be Queen anyway. She was on track to becoming a doctor and wanted to help others as much as she could, but becoming Queen would cause her to have to give up her dream. She noticed as she looked out the window that they were crossing over the single drawn bridge that led into Nobel Michel's Castle. She took a deep breath as they had arrived and waited for William to open the door for her.

Climbing out of the car, she saw all kinds of people getting out of their limos and walking up the stairs to the castle. There were models, movie stars, writers, designers, business associates, and government officials. Everyone was either in a real beautiful elegant dress or in a tuxedo; no one was seen wearing causal clothing, as this is the place everyone wish they could be at. The media was swarming the place, hoping they could catch a glance of the princes and their dates.

William escorted her up the stairs, pushing pass the media with Sara behind her, following them. As they waited to check in and go through security, William whispered quietly in her ear, "Is there a reason you decided to not bring a date?"

Hera snorted a little at his comment and laughed a little after she thought about it. It was true; she had forgotten all about the party while trying to focus on her studies. She could have asked any remote of movie stars or writers, but in reality she just wasn't really worry about coming with a date.

"I've been focus on studies lately, which truthfully left me to forget all about this party."

William nodded a little, it was typical of his Princess to forget things like this, but he was just glad she was following her dream. That's all that's matter to him, but he knew eventually she would have to pick between being a Queen or being a Doctor. For now, he wasn't too worried about the decision, as she has years before she had to make her choice. Once they got up to the front to check in, there were big security guys and a funny looking man, who was checking guest in to make sure that they were supposed to be there for the party.

"Name please?"

"Princess Hera Pinarius of the Athenian Kingdom." William told the man, who watched as body guards moved out the way and the three were let in the castle. Hera was in amazement as she walked into the castle, it was beautiful and she loved the art work, which she knew she had to come back and take a look later.

"William…when was the last time I was here?" Hera asked, as she followed him to one of the rooms that were provided for her.

Sara sat down a bag that had her change of clothes in and William had closed the curtain on the window, as he replied to her. "The last time you were here was nearly sixteen years ago…you were only a little girl when you came here with your parents."

Hera carefully nodded, as Sara fixed her hair and readjust her rose that was pinned back to hold her hair back. She looked at the time and saw that it nearly six and the party was about to begin. Hera looked up at William, tilting her head slightly, "William…where are my parents at?"

He sigh a little, as he looked down at her, trying to give her a reassuring smile. "They will not be able to make it tonight…due to the threat of war and civil unrest within the Kingdom; it would've looked bad on His Imperial Majesty if he were to attend a party at this time."

"Then why did the letter my father sent me say that he was going to be here tonight?"

"He was supposed to…but overnight there had been some developments..."William stopped talking, as he knew if he explained any further that it may upset Hera and that's the last thing he wanted to do tonight. "Look, Your Highness should not be worried, everything will be fine and if something does happen, I'll be sure to let you know."

Hera nodded, as she left her room and headed out to the ball area. Today was Nobel Michel's 100th birthday, and wanted to throw a big party, mostly because he liked the attention of the young ladies. She hasn't seen him since she was six, so she was happy to be able to see him once again. Once she entered the ball room, she was surprised how pack the ball room was; everyone was dancing, eating, talking, or tasting wine. She looked all around for Prince Joshua, until she finally spot him over by the wine table. She made her way over there and prodded him in the side.

"Who has the nerve to prod…Hera?!" Prince Joshua said surprisingly, as he turned away from the other five Princes, who all looked in his direction when he said her name. She smiled brightly at him, as she poked his cheek again. "It's been a while Joshua…glad you remember me."

He sighed a little, as he removed her hand from his cheek, glaring. "I saw you several months ago for my birthday…I don't think I can hardly forget you."

Prince Roberto quickly jumped in, giving off his charming smile, taking her hand into his. "Who may this beautiful lady, Joshey?"

"Don't call me Joshey! You have to stop with those stupid nicknames of yours!" Joshua yelled, as he rolled up his hands into a fist. After a split second he calmed down, and ran a hand through his hair, as he looked down at her. "This is Princess Hera of Athenian, she is also my cousin."

Roberto kissed her hand gently and smiled, "There is no way that Josh could be related to such a beautiful princess."

Hera blushed a tad bit, smiling down at him. "You're so sweet Prince Roberto, but yes we are related, as our fathers are brothers."

Prince Wilfred entered the conversation, giving off a gentle smile. "How are two brothers, who share the same parents, rule two different kingdoms?"

"Well…it was their uncle, who had ruled over my kingdom, but he didn't any children, so my father fell first in line and took over Athenian, so Joshua's father could have Dres Van." Hera explained, as she picked up a glass of wine and sipped it. It tasted elegant, as the flavor took over her taste buds and sent a warm feeling through her throat and body. Her eyes lit up as she took another sip and smiled, "This wine…it taste so sweet and elegant, yet it sends a nice warm feelings." She stated, as she took a third sip, she was prepared to be a bit tipsy tonight.

"That is the finest wine from my kingdom, made from the finest grapes that we have in the entire Kingdom." Prince Edward said with a smile, as he poured himself a glass of wine.

Hera smiled gently as the talks about wine and where the best comes from starts to come about; she decided to wonder off a bit, growing bored of the talks about wine. She had offers to dance, but she turned them all down, as she just wasn't in the mood to dance. She slowly snuck out of the ballroom and into the massive hallway, looking up at the pictures. She was reading all about Nobel Michel and how the kingdom came to be what it is today.

"I see you are interested in my Kingdom." A soft voice from behind her spoke. She turned around to see an older man with a long white beard and was wearing a purple robe. His eyes lit up when he saw her and smile gently. "Well, if it's Princess Hera, you've grown up to be a beautiful young lady, just like your mother."

Hera bowed to him and smiled, "My lord, it really has been a long time. I'm glad to see you again and happy birthday."

Nobel Michel laughed wholeheartedly, and smiled at her. "Well thank you, please, you do remember to call me Nobel right?"

"Oh how I could not forget that, and my father got mad at me for saying that, due to not showing respect to you."

Nobel Michel face got serious, as he gently took her hand into his and patted it. "Do tell me, how are your parents? I heard there are issues over in the kingdom right now."

Hera frowned a little and nodded, "Yes, there are issues right now…I'm in the Charles Kingdom studying right now, so I'm not sure how bad the situation really is, but I'm afraid that it's going to only get worse." She explained, as she gently gripped his hand, she was truly afraid for the Kingdom and her people, and wasn't really sure how bad the situation really was.

He patted her hand once more and offered her a reassuring smile, "My dear, you know you are welcome here anytime if you are in need of a place to stay. Don't hesitate to call me, ever."

"Thank you Nobel…you are to kind as always." She stated, as she looked out the window at the sun started to go down, she was brought out of her daze when she heard a voice from a short distance. "Lord Michel it's time for you to get your rest."

Nobel Michel turned around and saw his butler standing a short distance away. "Ah Zain, is it that time already? I was enjoying spending some time with Her Imperial Highness."

Hera heard that name and turned around, to find the man who had protected her yesterday, she felt her cheeks immediately grow hot and smiled a little. She didn't know what it was about him, but he always made her blush and smile. Zain eyes widen when he saw her and bowed his head to her. "My apologize Your Highness, I did not mean to interrupt."

"O-Oh no, you don't have to apologize for anything…Nobel Michel, you should go get your rest." She told him, as she urged him to go with his butler. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, as she watched him disappear down the corridor. Hera decided to go back to the party and when she walked into the ballroom and saw that that everyone was dancing, she even spotted Prince Joshua dancing with a very pretty woman. As she stood there, watching everyone, she saw a hand held out to her and a voice that came along with it, "Would you do me the honor and dance with me, your Highness?"

She looked up to see Prince Keith smiling down at her, she really wasn't in the mood to dance, but she didn't want to turn him down either. She gently placed her hand in his and he took out to the dance floor, smiling, as he placed a hand on her waist and another in her hand. She moved along with him, as they swayed together perfectly to the music. He started to laugh, which made her blush and scrunch her nose, "What's so funny Prince Keith?"

"I have never met a woman who could dance as well as I can, usually I'm taking the lead, but here you are, taking the lead as well."

Hera gave him a small smirk, as she felt his hand tighten its grip on her waist, "Well I can be full of surprises, but I was how to dance by one of the best instructors, who actually came from Dres Van."

Prince Keith brought her closer to him, which actually made her feel uncomfortable being that close to him. He gave her a smirk, "Well, that's going to make you a very excellent Queen. You're almost worthy enough to be married to me."

"_Yeah…who said I would marry a jerk like you anyway?"_ Hera thought, as she forced a smile. He was way to rude and a jerk for her to be with, he may be good looking and the Crown Prince to a big Kingdom, but his ego is way too big to be with someone like her. Once the music stopped, she pulled away from him and smiled again. "Thank you for the dance Prince Keith."

He had kissed her hand and smiled at her, she had to admit, he had a charming smile, but still…his ego was way too big for her to deal with. "You're welcome my dear Princess, hopefully the next time we dance, I'll be able to out lead you." Prince Keith said as he walked off with a big smirk on his face, thinking that he had intrigued her.

"_Yeah…he's still an arrogant prick…not on my list to date, or even remotely think about being married too."_

Hera had walked off the floor and from a glance she thought she saw her brother, but when she went to take a double look, no one was there. She really didn't like the fact her brother was here and was glad she hadn't seen him so far. She noticed William was running up to her and he had seemed to be out of breath. "William…what's wrong?"

"There's been an accident at the castle…I don't know much, but His Majesty has asked me to keep you here at Nobel Michel." He explained, as he escorted her out of the ball room and into the hall. She noticed the other Prince's, their butlers, Nobel Michel, and Zain, including her brother were there, and brought her over to them, much to her demise. The moment he started to speak, she thought the world was going to cave in and just collapse.

"Sister listen…"

Prince Marcus was slapped right across the face by Hera; who had tears in her eyes. Jan had ran over and pulled her back from him, and held her in his arms. "What did you do Marcus?! You are the Minister of Defensive…did you give the go ahead to go to war?"

"Hera, I didn't do anything to put our kingdom in danger, I swear! The time was coming for the kingdom to go to war anyway…"

Jan loosens his grip on her as Prince Joshua started to shout at him. "We were in a time of peace, why did you go and screw that up?"

"To show them that the Athenian Empire will not fall at the hands of some Dictator who wishes to destroy the Kingdom and bring us all down. They already tried to assassinate father!"

She just stood there, with her hands over her mouth, trying to hold back tears. William stood there in shock, as his master stood there and told his Mistress information that she didn't need to know. She turned to look at William, and he knew he was caught lying to her. "William…why didn't you tell me…?"

"I did it to protect you…that's what His Majesty wanted, as he didn't want you to worry."

Prince Keith stepped in and slapped a hand on Marcus shoulder, nodding. "You had to do what's best for the Empire…I've done the same thing for my people."

"Surely there was something else to do than go to war…" Prince Wilfred said, as he stepped up to Hera's aid. The other four princes agreed with him, they all knew that what he was doing was wrong and could cause issues for everyone if this war breaks out.

"B-But…what about the people? How will they defend themselves?" She asked quietly as she looked down at the ground.

"The people will be fine! You worry about the people too much…you always mingle with the commoners and people in poverty. If they can't survive a war, it's because they don't have the money to support and take care of themselves."

"That's because I care what the people think! They look up to us…we are there to protect them and they are to defend us." She spat with anger, as tears welted up in her eyes.

Nobel Michel stepped in between the siblings and sighed a little, "This goes on no more; I want all the prince's to go into the assembly hall and talk about the issue." He said to the group of princes, which all of them were on edge at that second. He slowly turned around to Hera and took her hand into his, patting it. "Calm down my dear, you are to stay as my guest in the Castle until things settle down. I will have Zain show you to where your room will be." He explained to her gently.

"Yes my master, if you would come this way Your Highness." Zain said very calmly, as he guided her down the hall to her room. Slowly the further she got away, the quitter the voices of the Princes got. Once finally showed to her room, Zain bowed to her and gave him a calm, yet reassuring smile. "Would you like some tea?"

It took her a few minutes to realize what he had asked, and she nodded a tad bit, "Yes…that would be lovely, thank you Zain." She watched him leave the room and sigh, as she slipped off her heels and took out the pins in her hair, letting her hair fall completely down. She wrapped a stoll around her shoulders, as she walked out onto the balcony, breathing in the fresh air. So many thoughts were running through her head that it was getting close to making her feel real dizzy.

"_Everything was fine when I was left alone to go to school and live my life the way I wanted to…now that Marcus is back and acting out of control, I can't help but wonder what's going to happen. My family…friends…the people…I can't stand it if they get hurt…"_

The more she thought about it all, the more she felt dizzy, so she decided to lean up against the railings, in hope it would support her. Her brother had no idea how the people truly felt…all he had seem to care about was to make them look stronger and make people fear them.

She heard a knock at her door and her name being called, but her mind was going a hundred miles a minute, that it didn't register. She slowly closed her eyes, trying to get herself to settle down, which was working well, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Gah!" Hera yelped, as she jumped back from the railings, to see a worried Zain, who now had a relieved expression on his face. "Zain…you scared me doing that." She said with a sigh, as she tried to catch her breath.

He blushed a tad bit and bowed, looking back up at her. "I'm sorry, I had knocked on the door and said your name, and so I came on in to make sure you were alright…I do apologize for the intrusion Your Highness."

She gave him a soft laugh and shook her head, "No, you're fine Zain. I spaced out while trying to clear all the thoughts out of my head."

"Thank you, shall we go back inside? You'll catch a cold if you end up staying out here much longer." He suggested with a calm smile.

Hera nodded and started to head back in, when the stoll around her shoulders had fallen off, "Ah…" she went to grab it, but a hand reached out quickly and picked it up. She looked up and saw he was very close to her, and she turned read, feeling her head spin and her heart race.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, as he wrapped the stoll back around her shoulders. She didn't understand why her heart was beating so fast, but she had to calm herself before he noticed. "I-I'm fine…just cold." She muttered, as she walked inside as fast as she could.

She sat on the couch, as he handed her a cup of warm tea. "Here…this will warm you up real fast." She gently took the cup out of his hand and slowly began to sip on it. The warmth of the tea spread through her mouth, down her throat, and slowly began to warm up her whole body. Placing the cup down on the table, she sighed a little.

"Is something wrong Your Highness?" He asked, as he took the cup and placed it on the tray that he had brought in.

"No...It's nothing to worry about, I'll figure it out." Hera muttered, as she tried to force a smile. So much was going through her head, that it was getting hard to understand anything that has happened in the past few hours. "Zain…?"

"Yes Your Highness?"

"Is it possible to take me tomorrow to gather stuff from my apartment to have here?"

Zain smiled softly at her and gave her a nod, "Of course, I will drive you first thing tomorrow to get your belongings."

Hera gave him a warm smile, as she felt her heart skip a little as she looked at his smile. She felt like she was to yawn and tried to stifle it as long as she could, but once she did, she heard a slight chuckle come from Zain, making her blush a tad bit.

"Get some sleep Your Highness, and if you need anything, don't be hesitant to ask me."

She gave him a very tiresome nod, as she watched him get up with the tray in his hands, as he walked to the door; he bowed and gave her a gentle smile. "Good night Your Highness." He said, as he slipped out the door, closing the door quietly behind him.

She felt like she sat there for hours, just staring at the very door that he slipped out of. Slowly, she got off the couch, changing into a pair of shorts and a tank top. Turning out the lights, she crawled into the soft bed, laying her head on the softest pillows that she has ever lain on since she left her castle. Pulling the blankets around her, she slowly started to drift off into a deep sleep, as drops of water softly land on her pillow, as they rolled off her cheeks. She knew this was going to be the longest two weeks of her life.

* * *

Aha, I'm done! I sure hope y'all liked the first chapter and there will be more to come! As I finish my spring semester of college this week, and I'll have a few weeks off until summer starts. Time to get writing! ^-^

**Next Chapter:** Hera slowly starts getting used to living in a castle again, as she finds most of her time studying in the library and spending time out in the gardens. While she's there, she tries to learn more about Zain and something happens between them that gets them blushing every time they see one another. While she's there, Prince Keith extend a visit to his kingdom for her and a lady pays a visit to Hera, which seems to put Zain on the edge as they hang out and get to know one another.


End file.
